The activist investor suggests HSBCÆs 18% earnings increase is due to one-offs and that radical action may be necessary with respect to the bankÆs subprime-affected business in the US.

Knight Vinke Asset Management, an activist investor based in the US, has released its view of HSBC's 2007 financial results that were issued earlier this week. Knight Vinke has been a critic of HSBC's management since September 2007, condemning the bank for its ôstrategy of seeking earnings diversification above all elseö.

Knight Vinke continues to argue that businesses like HSBC's operations in France lack critical mass and scale, while its US subprime business has no strategic...